The Screw-Ups to play Heirloom

Jesse Shayne

Updated 1:02 am, Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The Screw-Ups, a native Newtown band, will perform at Heirloom Arts Theatre in Danbury, on Wednesday, July 24. Left to right are Julian Wahlberg on guitar and vocals, saxophone player Nico Bonvini, Dave Manville on drums, and Kyle Kearney on bass.
Photo: Contributed Photo

The Screw-Ups, a native Newtown band, will perform at Heirloom Arts...

DANBURY -- The Screw-Ups, a native Newtown band, will make a comeback July 24 at the Heirloom Arts Theatre, 155 Main St.

The concert will be its first after a five-month hiatus, due to a thumb injury sustained by the lead guitarist and vocalist.

During the break, the musicians released their debut EP, which has brought a whirlwind of publicity and recognition.

The self-titled freshman effort -- recorded, mixed and mastered in Fairfield County -- has been received well in the U.S.

But it has been particularly prominent on the radio waves of Venezuela and the United Kingdom, two countries in which ska, the band's primary defining sound, is still quite popular.

"Americans think of ska as being high-schoolish, but British people remember the second wave from the '80s more than the '90s stuff, so they take it a lot more seriously," said saxophonist Nico Bonvini.

Since the release of the EP, the band has added almost 2,000 Twitter followers from all over the world. Bonvini cites the popular social media outlet as the primary catalyst for its publicity.

"People use Twitter to find new stuff, whereas Facebook is about connecting with people you already know," he said.

All were members of Newtown High School's Class of 2008 and currently reside in Boston, except for Wahlberg, who is still in Newtown.

Manville graduated from Bay State College this year, and Bonvini will be a senior at Northeastern this fall.

The band originally formed in 2004 as Squinty and the Screw-ups. It has been in its current form since 2009, after going through a number of evolutions that saw members come and go.

While members of The Screw-Ups cite older ska bands from the '70s and '80s as their primary influence, their sound more closely resembles some of the renowned ska acts of the '90s.

Their upbeat instrumentals, accompanied by angsty lyrics about young love and heartbreak, bring to mind recent ska greats such as 311 and Sublime.

Julian Wahlberg's lyrics are a testament to Nick Hexum of 311 in quality, substance and tone. Their 4/4 tunes are easily danceable thanks to steady drum patterns kept spicy with syncopated flairs of saxophone and reggae keyboard.

Doors for the show will open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

The band is excited to see what kind of crowd it draws to the Heirloom show, which will be headlined by Mad Conductor, a popular self-defined "space rock" act from New Orleans.

Also on the bill are 27 Prophets, Space Bacon and D-Minor, all touring ska/reggae/funk bands from the tri-state area.

Bonvini hopes the publicity from the new EP will allow the band to go on tour some time in the near future. Upcoming shows including its New York City debut, at Otto's Shrunken Head on Sept. 12.

The Screw-Ups are also organizing a number of Northeast weekend tours in the next few months, but it's difficult for them to coordinate long trips given their varying work and school schedules.

They're hoping to soon get on the bill with a bigger act for an extended tour.

"I'd just like to play a gig every night," said Kearney. "That's my dream."